The Life and Legend of Lily Potter
by CasperShot
Summary: The story of Lily Potter, her life growing up, finding out she's a witch, to her quest to save her son from the Darkest wizard in the last three centuries. Even heroes, legends in their own right have hardships in their past that helped to forge them into what they are.
1. Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

Disclaimer - This is NOT my property. Harry Potter and all fictional persons and beasts of the world therein belong solely to J.K Rowling. I do not profit in any way off the content that I've written, I merely wish to add what I can to a world I grew up in.*

Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

Lily loved Charmes. In her 7th year she started interning for Professor Flitwick in highly advanced charms work from books he had gathered recently. Very obscure, arcane spells that required no less than two fully certified Charms Masters. To be perfectly honest, he had asked Dumbledore for his help with it first, but regrettably his work with being the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, Chief Warlock AND Headmaster of Hogwarts it was quite hard to find time for anything else. And so Flitwick decided to go to his star pupil, Lily Evans. Make no mistake, to say that Lily was astonishingly, mindbogglingly brilliant in that field would be a massive understatement. It would be more accurate to say she was a prodigy of prodigies, a shining star that couldn't help but outshine all around her and by the end of her 7th year while not yet formally certified, she was most definitely a Charms Master. She did that for a few years, until Harry was born. Then life itself became all about him, nothing else in the world mattered but keeping him safe. Difficult to do in a war time environment but managable with the help of good friends. Granted, they didn't really become friends until James and her got together around the same time she started working for Flitwick in her 7th year. Which in itself was startling considering not three weeks prior she had yelled at him for the whole Great Hall to hear (after once again acosting her about going to Hogsmeade with him) that he was a "Mean, selfish, arrogant, insufferable little toerag" before storming out. Something that had left many with their jaws hanging open since it was not often that a muggleborn spoke to a pureblood in such a manner, especially one belonging to a Most Noble and Ancient House. She knew that at the very least, regardless of their station, James's family didn't buy into the whole " Pureblood Superiority" platform that a large portion of the wizarding world was starting to take up. It was quite possibly his only redeemable quality. The pureblood agenda was beginning to be a rising tide within the war torn community. Everyone knowing, but not willing to admit that it's largest benefactors we're under the banner of this self styled Dark Lord Voldemort. But despite his views on blood status, if there was one thing Lily hated above all else it was bullies so at every turn she had tried to shut down his attempts to woo her. That didn't stop him though, just like all her previous attempts at getting him to leave her alone it only seemed to make him try harder. Unfortunately, Lily was used to it and apparently there wasn't anything in the wizarding world similar to a restraining order. At least not when its a muggleborn pursuing action against a pureblood. Lily could say with all honesty that for the last six years, James Potter had done nothing but stalk her. It all started at their sorting, but lets start a bit further back.

Lily Evans, a muggleborn witch born January 3rd, 1960 , on Spinner's End in Cokeworth. A large, but uneventful town made up of rows upon rows of identical brick faced houses connected to one another. Chimney smoke often coming out of the roofs filling the air with a slight but constant smog that was quite hard to get away from. The town had gone downhill in the early thirties following the Great Depression which resulted in the loss of one of the only real financial stabilities the town had, the steel mill. The other source to a lesser degree being a small but modest establishment on the outskirts of the city called The Railview Hotel. The Mill was affixed with a massive smoke stack that towered over all the houses and happened to be the main source of the gloomy and unhealthy atmosphere while also being the main source of money. Most of the town worked there, and when the Mill closed they we're severely crippled. Lily, just like the town described in one singular commonality, led a particularly uneventful life with her twin sister Petunia in the far end house nearest to the local river. Her father William Evans, was a hardworking, loving family man who worked at the Mill until it closed. It was his whole life, a legacy even. He trained in welding since he was a child, taught the trade by his father who spent his whole life doing the same like his father, going back generations.

She was nine when the Mill closed and life became a constant struggle for the Evans family and her father was never quite the same. He took odd jobs and under the counter manual labor work for ends meat, living day to day to provide for his family. Lily noticed that he had started to drink a lot more. He was never once abusive to his family though, especially his girls. Preferring to sit alone by the living room fire late, late into the night with a perpetually empty bottle in his hand. She never forgot the first time she saw that look on his face as he stared into the cackling flames. Defeated, broken, lost..but so much worse in way she hadn't been able to describe at the time. It wasn't until decades later as a trained adult witch that she figured out the look. The closest possible description would be the look on a man who had lost his soul to a Dementor. And even years later, years after her father had passed, that revelation still broke her heart.

Her mother Delilah, was a meek but nurturing woman who had the amazing ability of always being able to cheer her and her sister up, even in the darkest of times. Always ready with a smile, and stories about the crazy antics her and her "Strange" cousin Ursula got into when they we're younger. They always asked what was strange about her, but they never got a clear answer to that question. After repeated attempts, the girls eventually gave up on figuring anything out about their mysterious aunt. The only response they could get would be "Its hard to explain, but lets just say she's strange in a very special way."

To pass the time, or to just be alone she often found herself reading by the river nearby, the Dirty River, as it was called. Aptly named for all the trash and debris clogging it up for as long as anyone could remember. It's only redeeming feature being a large, beautiful willow tree on the far banks, which always seemed to be lush green even at the oddest of seasons. It was her favorite spot because she knew in her heart that somehow, it was a magic tree.

It was one gloomy and unremarkable day that Lily ran from the house toward the river after her parents got a huge fight over money, like usual. It had been almost two years since the mill closed and times were harder than ever. So she sat there under the shade of the comforting branches, crying her eyes out into her knees with a forgotten Alice in Wonderland novel laying nearby. She stayed that way for quite some time, the sun beginning to set painting the surroundings in a dim orange glow, casting faint shadows on the hanging foliage around her. Until she heard someone walk up behind her, something quite rare since her hearing was impeccable and nobody ever snuck up on her. She bolted upright to set eyes on the stranger to find a skinny, young boy with a messy mop of black hair wearing clothing that was just barely functional. Most of the articles having noticeable, patchwork repairs done to them. She stared a moment before speaking,

"Hello, my name's Lily Evans."

He stared even longer, with wide eyes before managing to get out, "Hello, I'm Severus. Severus Snape."

he looked very surprised that they we're speaking, like it was something the boy had thought about doing for a long time before finally gaining the courage to come forward.

"Do you live around here" she asked, rubbing her eyes that we're still slightly red from all the previous crying a moment before.

"Yes, I live in that apartment over there, next to the one closest to the river."

she was noticeably shocked to learn that this boy she had never seen before was her next door neighbor. How had she not noticed him before.

"Really? that's my apartment. I guess that makes us neighbors" she said with a small smile as being friendly was just something that came naturally to her.

"Yes. We moved in about 3 years ago, just before the Mill shutdown. My father works in upholstery though so we weren't hit quite as hard as most." Severus said as Lily suddenly got a pained look in her eyes. He immediately regretted saying that, explaining her reaction only required taking a guess as to what profession her father worked in.

"I'm sorry. I know how hard some people here have it, even the fabric business is barely hanging on."

Lily smiled again, and his heart fluttered in a way that he had never experienced before.

"Its ok, its just hard sometimes you know. Money always seems to cause arguments, and make life difficult."

He nodded in understanding. "I know what that's like. My father..he's not the nicest man in the world. Even before the money got short, he was always angry and...well, never mind." he replied, turning his head down in embarrassment.

Lily frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder as he looked up.

"Just so you know, we are best friends from now on Mr.Snape. And you can always come talk to me, if you need too" she said with the biggest smile yet.

"Just Severus, I really don't like my fathers name. I prefer my mothers really, Prince. And, I would really like that." he said with a smile. Unknown to her, it was the first time he had smiled in a long, long time.

"Why have I never seen you before?" she asked, genuinely curious

Severus looked down and away from her as he replied " Well, I dont get out a lot. I work with my father mostly and when i'm home i'm usually cleaning and doing chores."

Lily looked slightly perturbed. Being much more observant than your average ten year old, she was starting to piece together that just like her, but possibly in a much worse way, he didn't have a very good home life either. She figured the best way to navigate through this development would be very lightly.

"Oh, well i'm glad you're here now" Lily said smiling, " I don't really have a lot of friends around here. I have few in primary but it's a very small class."

"I don't go to primary school, my mother home school's me. Doesn't leave much room for meeting new people" Severus replied with a small smile, clearly trying to keep the conversation light.

Lily looked intrigued, interested in what homeschool was like, intent on broaching the subject at a later date. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" she asked.

"No, it's just me. You?"

she nodded, "Yes, I have a twin sister, Petunia. She was my only best friend until we met, now I have two." she said happily. " She doesn't come outside too often. She has this odd phobia of sunburns, and sunlight in general. it makes it difficult for her to do much outside."

Severus understood, replying " Phobia, like an irrational fear or aversion to an extreme degree.?" he said, spoken more like a statement or excerpt from a dictionary than the question intended.

Lily smiled again, "Your mother must be a very good teacher. Most kids I know don't know what that word means. That makes you special."

" I can do other special things. Look." he said as he walked over to the tree and then, stopping to look up at her said "Just, dont freak out.."

Lily frowned. What was he about to do that could possibly freak her out, she asked herself. She didnt have to wait long for an answer though as just when the thought passed, he reached his hand towards the base of the tree at her book. And slowly but surely, the book started to rise up off the ground by itself and float towards her.

Lily stood there with her eye's transfixed on the floating book, mouth hanging open in pure astonishment. If there was one thing that Lily loved above all else but family, it was seeing and learning new things and THAT, was definitely something new.

As the book neared her, she reached out and grabbed it. Astonished once more upon feeling the book and finding no strings, or wires or anything that could come close to explaining how Severus had done that.

" Ho...How did you do that?" she asked, finally finding her voice after moments hesitation.

Severus just looked at her and said, " Magic."

Lily looked at him, not quite believing him as the answer just seemed to improbable, too unbelievable. She thought her favorite tree might be magic, sure. But to hear it spoken with such certainty, such conviction, was somewhat startling.

"Really. Magic?." she asked, feeling slightly bad about not believing him, but it just seemed too impossible.

Severus looked at her and said " Yes, really. It's magic. And I have something to admit to you. I've seen you before, sitting alone out here the few times I've been outside. But I've always been too nervous to come over. I noticed you crying earlier, and couldn't help but come over to see if you we're alright.

Lily smiled at him, and leaned in to hug him without hesitation. Severus couldn't really explain the feeling he had as he held onto the girl in front of him. People have often spoken of a metaphorical "Spark" between two people, an omen of true love maybe. But the feeling they both had at the moment went way beyond that. Soft, shimmering blue tendrils of pure light started to make their way from their hands, encircling one another. Encasing them both in a glowing dome that held an indescribable beauty about it, casting a shine like moonlight around the now dark area beside them and the tree.

"Magic." they both said, simultaneously while looking the other in the eyes.

Severus spoke, " Lily, have you ever wondered why this tree always seems to be healthy and green, even in winter?"

Lily thought for a moment before replying, slightly embarrassed about how childish it sounded.

"Well, I kind of thought the tree was magic.." Severus looked at her and smiled, before saying.

"I don't think its the tree that's magic, Lily. Have you ever done something strange? Maybe when you we're really angry or happy? Something that no matter how much you thought about it you just couldn't explain?"

Very quickly Lily started to look back on a few things that had happened to her throughout her life in a whole new light. The time she was almost hit by a car, but suddenly the car forcefully veered off course into the ditch. The time that miserable Esmeralda Marchbanks from school had thrown a punch at her. Lily just closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable impact. But all she heard was Esmeralda scream, holding her broken appendage at her midsection after breaking every bone in her hand. And then there was her favorite tree, that was also quite unexplainable.

" You think I can do magic?" Lily asked, in a tone that said she didn't quite believe him, but didn't believe herself at the moment either.

Severus just thought for a moment before walking over to the river and picking up a small pebble and sat down at the base of the tree as Lily sat down next to him. He placed the pebble in her open palm, looking her in the eyes he said,

"Ok, this is kind of going to be like meditation. Just look at the pebble, be calm and see it in your mind. Forget everything around you but the pebble."

Lily nodded, while looking at the pebble in a serene, collected state. Severus then said very quietly,

"Now, think about where your soul would be. Imagine a big ball of pure energy inside you, flowing and crashing like torrential waves inside your very being.

As Lily worked at it, she could indeed feel something there, held behind some barrier just waiting to escape. She sat with her eyes closed, envisioning the pebble and the unexplainable feeling when Severus spoke again.

"Now, Think of those waves, that energy, feel them. And try and control the direction its moving, imagine your hands around it, moulding it to your desired shape."

As Lily was doing that, she felt the waves rising faster and faster before finally, the dam broke. Ethereal light burst out like flowing water around her, as the pebble in her hand slowly started turning green, before splitting open to reveal a small stem slowly growing out of her palm. It stopped after about 4 inches before bloomimg into the most beautiful white Lily flower she had ever seen. She stared at it with tears in her eyes, not quite believing the absolute relief she felt after whatever it was that had happened. It felt as if she had been wearing dampeners on all her senses until now, and she was finally feeling the world around her. She could literally feel the magic in the very air around them.

Lily looked at Severus, about to speak before her sister Petunia yelled from behind them, with clear fear in her eyes.

"I'M TELLING MUMMY!" before running away towards the houses.

Lily yelled for her to stop before giving chase, leaving Severus behind at the bank of the river.

She had too much of a lead though, and so the front door was wide open when she arrived. Lily could her her twin sister yelling inside about what she had seen, and heard the word "Freak" thrown around more than a few times. That was the first time in her life she felt her heart break a little. All of a sudden it was like her sister had become a totally different person. No longer was there the shy little girl who loved books as much as her. Who would stay up late into the night with her discussing the latest chapter of whatever book they we're reading together. In a heartbeat it was all reduced to a single look of fear and loathing.

Lily walked up behind Petunia, who was speaking to their mother. Not sure what to expect, Lily held herself in a solemn manner while looking at the floor. She didn't see or notice the look of pure joy in her mother's eyes, an insurmountable happiness taking her in the knowledge that the world had just gotten much brighter.

Lily, still looking down as her mother asked, "Lily, is this true? Did you really do what Petunia here is saying about the flower, and the glowing lights?"

"Yes..." Lily replied, quietly. For she would never, in a million years lie to her mother, who she idolized. Suffice to say, she was quite startled when their mother hugged her while expressing a weird mix of crying and laughing.

"Oh my baby girl, I knew you we're magical from the moment I had you. But who knew just how much. There's finally another Witch in the family." she said with unbridled joy while looking into her daughter's eyes.

"A Witch?" Is that what I am? How do you know? Lily asked in one breath, unable to explain the feeling of finally putting words, description and context into the unbelievable direction this night had taken.

Her mother nodded, confirming her statement. "Remember my strange sister Ursula?" Lily nodded, unsure of where she was going.

"Well, Ursula was like you. She was a witch. She could do amazing things, unexplainable things. Its a very rare gift, and it's to be cherished." her mother said, as Petunia stood frozen nearby, with a look of utter betrayal written on her face at both her sister and now their mother. And possibly in the worst timing imaginable, an intelligent looking barn owl flew in through the open kitchen window with a letter tied to its foot. Lily, being naturally gifted with animals of all kinds, walked over and pet the owl as she untied the letter from its leg.

She stood there, astonished for possibly the twelfth time that night as she read the word's on the letter, not quite understanding them. The words read,

_To one Lily Evangeline Evans, at 1209 Spinner's End, Cokeworth. We are very pleased to invite you to attend the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in Scottland. Please be at King's Cross Station in London on the first of September to board the train to the school at 10 A.M sharp. Among the list of items and necessities required includes 1 Owl, Cat or Toad. 1 wand, Two sets of standard robes with 1 set of dress robes. A complete list of all items including potion supplies, required books, etc can found enclosed. You and your parents should make your way to the Leaky Cauldron in London and talk to Tom the Bartender for further direction in acquiring said items. Congratulations, and we look forward to seeing you there_.

Signed,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

She re-read the letter multiple times, soaking in the information slowly as her mother gushed about what the other mothers would say if they knew how special HER daughter was. It was then that her father came home from his temporary job laying concrete. Her mother immediately (and enthusiastically) gave him a rundown of the nights events. He just smiled and picked Lily up in a big hug while spinning her around and laughing. Lily laughed along with him, not thinking about how she hadn't seen him that happy about anything in years. She then saw Petunia storm off to her room out of the corner of her eye. Still somewhat sad about her reaction, but not enough to dampen her mood at her parents reaction.

She knew then, that everything was gonna be different. Everything was going to change, and her life finally had a bright and beautiful destination on the horizon. Now she just had to get there, and it all started with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Dirigible Dungaree's

Chapter 2 - The Dirigible Dungaree's

The next morning, Lily woke up feeling lighter than she ever had before, content in the knowledge that there would finally be more to life than waking up on Spinner's End. Grabbing her jacket, she made her way to the river and the tree where it all began, hoping to find Severus there in order to explain everything that had happened. Lily arrived to find him pacing back and forth in front of the tree, clearly very worried. When he finally looked up and saw her walking over to him, you could see the relief wash across his features.

"Lily, thank god. Are you ok? What happened? Are you hurt?" Severus asked very quickly, almost mashing the questions together into one long word. Lily was surprised by the reaction, and even more surprised at his last question.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why would I be hurt?" Lily asked, with her head quirked slightly to the side, as she often did when confronted with a curious problem or puzzle. Recalling the previous nights events she had not been able to think of anything that could have resulted in her getting hurt.

"I thought we we're alone last night and when your sister showed up and then ran off to your parents I thought that...something might have happened." Severus said

"I did think they would be angry at first, I'm not sure why. Petunia definitly was. But when mother and father heard about me doing magic, they we're thrilled. I don't think I've ever seen my father happier. What did you think might have happened?" Lily asked

"Well, lets just say that not everyone reacts that well to seeing real magic." Severus said with a frown and a dark look in his eye that he was unable to hide completely.

Lily looked at him, saddened by his explanation because she immediatly knew what the problem was.

She sat down at the base of the tree, patting the spot next to her where Severus then sat down before Lily asked, "Was it your father?", very aware that the conversation had taken a turn onto some very thin ice. Severus looked shocked, gobsmacked even, as he stared at her unable to believe that in just one single day she had unearthed his deepest, darkest secret. But also, for the first time, not willing to lie about it. Not to her.

"Yes. I unlocked my magic earlier this year. He was drunk and he hit mother again before I stepped in to try and stop him. In the end it was my magic that stopped him." Severus said with a dark grin that he couldn't help but have toward the man he hated more than anything in the world. Severus continued,

"He was thrown into the wall. The look in his eyes when he got up was just pure hatred. He calls me an "Abomination" most of the time now." he said looking down, but feeling immensly lighter after finally getting that off his chest.

Severus looked up, praying he didn't see the ONE look he was afraid he would see after telling anyone about his father. Pity. The worst thing in the world you could possibly give someone. Severus didn't want anyone's pity. He would succeed where his father hadn't and actually do something with his life and get out of this thrice damned town instead of wasting away, day after day in a willful and monotonous march toward an early grave. But that's not what he saw when he looked into her impossibly bright green eyes. Burning orbs of emerald fire. It wasn't pity, or even a deep form of sadness. It was more of an understanding, as she took his hand and smiled and said,

"I won't tell anyone. And like I said, you can always come to me whenever you need to." Despite her intelligence, she couldn't wrap her mind around how a parent could treat their own flesh and blood in such a way. No child should have to fear their parent like one would fear the Boogeyman or a monster under their bed.

Severus smiled, and knew that this is where he would always want to be. Sitting in the shade of the willow tree, with Lily Evans. Life was never more complete. They sat for a while, hand in hand watching the river carry various pieces of trash through it's current. They made a game of it even, guessing which of the bigger pieces would hit the rocks and be diverted along a new path. Eventually Lily spoke,

"I wish this river was cleaner. I've been coming here for so long I've gotten used to it, but now that your here with me I'm realising that its not a very pleasant view. " she said with a frown.

Severus thought a moment before saying,

"Well, I was accepted into this special school for magic in Scottland shortly after that incident with my father. Theres this place you go in order to get your school supplies and it ha-"

Severus wasn't able to finish his sentence though because Lily just shot her head up to look at him with her eyes wide and a smile on her face and cut in,

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I was about to ask you about that. My letter came in last night and since you already knew about magic, I figured you might know something about it. Owl's delivering mail, really?" Lily said with a light chuckle.

"Yes, its all very strange. I'm still getting used to it myself, honestly. Owl's delivering mail is by far on the lower end of the scale regarding the strange things you'll see when you get your school supplies." Severus said

"So, you've already went and gotten all your things from that place the letter talked about?" Lily asked, a little crestfallen as now that she knew he was going to the same school as her, she was hoping he would acomppany her to get their things together.

"It's called Diagon Alley and not exactly. You can't buy a wand until you formally receive your addmitance letter, thats the law. Wizarding Law. But, i've snuck out of the house once and gone there myself because although you cant own a wand before that time, you CAN buy and own spellbook's as long its used for theory and not for practical. I've gotten quite good at wandless magic though in the year i've been practicing, and can do a number of things without a wand."

Severus said, a tad smugly. But in truth it was well deserved. Wandless magic at his age was absolutly unheard of and could only be interpretted as a sign of great things to come.

"Watch this" Severus said, as he looked at the river with trash floating by like usual. He raised both his hands in front of him, and then slowly started moving them from the center to face both opposite ends of the river. Then, a flash of neon purple burst out of his hands and hit the two locations in the middle of the river, covering the area with a shimmering purple light before quickly fading away.

Lily looked on in wonder, as she saw all the trash within the river in front of the tree fade away into nothing. Looking down the river, she noticed the oncoming trash slowly making its way to them, but as it passed the area where Severus's spells had impacted they too simply ceased to exist, forever enchanting the 50 foot long stretch of river in front of them to be nothing but bright, crystalline water.

The smile Lily had as looked at the now beautiful view of the uncluttered water was indescribable.

"What did you do to it?" Lily asked, a little awed by the impressive show of magic.

Severus just replied rather non-chalantly, like it was something that was easier than breathing, "I just put together what they call a Ward, to detect and eliminate any non-organic material that finds its way into the river. If its trash, it simply gets turned to sand."

Lily absorbed the knowledge, almost giddy to get started learning about all the new material that she previously thought in the realm of fantasy. She pulled herself together before asking,

"If you still need to get your wand as well, would you mind coming with me and my mother to this 'Diagon Alley' place for my school shopping tomorrow? Dad has to work, and Mum doesn't really know what's going on. She's still a bit befuddled over the Owl delivering my letter last night, so I'm worried how she's going to handle the nonsense of it all if it's as strange as I expect it to be." Lily asked hesitantly, hoping he would agree.

"Of course" Severus replied with a smile, "Don't knock on my door though. I'll meet you outside your house tomorrow morning at 8 A.M.

"Thank you!" Lily almost shouted, smiling brightly she leaned in to hug him before getting up, stating she had to get home. Severus watched her walk back to the house, thinking about how quickly she had become the best friend he had ever had.

Lily woke up bright and early at 7 A.M, her mother was already awake cooking breakfast in the kitchen. The smell of eggs and sausage wafting through the house. She was tempted to skip breakfast entirly seeing how she could barely contain her eagerness to get started with the days errands. She had barely slept a wink that night, tossing and turning while thinking about getting her own wand, going to a school of magic, breaking the laws of physics and bending the very fabric of reality. She was particularly interested in the last two.

Her mother noticed her erratic behavior and spoke in a calm but chastising tone,

"Young lady, sit down and eat your breakfast. We've got a big day ahead of us, and I'm not at all sure what to expect. But I do know that you will need the energy, so eat up."

Lily complied and sat down, just as Petunia walked in and sat down at the table as far away from Lily as possible. She had been dreading this moment, knowing how hard it was going to be but not really being able to prepare for it. Their mother then set plates of food down in front of them both. Bacon, eggs, kippers, sausage and toast. The standard english breakfast to start your day. Lily had eaten a few bites of eggs and a few bites of toast (And all the bacon, because its impossible to leave any bacon behind) but all she noticed we're the hate filled glares her sister Petunia kept shooting her way. She had spent the entire day locked in her room, and by the look on her face she was absolutly livid at their parents reaction to Lily's "Freakish" abilities. It was unfathomable how someone could change so quickly, so completely that over the course of a single night they became practically a different person. But that's what happened. Her sister hated her more than anything in the world now, and the looks Lily was receiving (while emotionally painful, to be sure) we're also starting to scare her a bit. Petunia literally looked as if she would string Lily up and burn her alive, if given half the chance.

Her mother, while not the smartest, most observant woman in the world was still sharper than most, and was starting to notice Petunia's disturbing behavior as well and said,

"Petunia, be nice to your sister and eat your breakfast. I don't know why you're behaving this way, but I will not have it in my house." Delilah said with an authoritative tone.

Petunia just pursed her lips, staring at them both vehemently before finally unable to take the preasure anymore she stood up and exploded in a fit of irriational, undiluted rage.

"HOW CAN YOU AND DAD BOTH BE SO BLIND! SHE IS NOTHING BUT A FREAK. AN ABOMINATION. SHE CANT BE TRUSTED, MUM! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?!"

Petunia started to leave. Lily, who was now slumped over in her chair crying softly, with tears in her eyes and her heart on the floor. Before walking out of the room, Petunia pointed right at her, and said in the coldest tone possible.

"She..is no sister of mine"

Lily just sat there, continuing to cry softly, unable to believe the words that her once loving sister had spoken to her. Her mother though was apoplectic. As Petunia left, she jolted upright so fast it threw the chair backward and started screaming on her way to Petunia's room for a face to face reprimand.

"HOW DARE YOU, PETUNIA EVAN'S! YOU CAN JUST STAY IN THAT ROOM FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS IF THATS HOW YOU TREAT FAMILY!"

Lily could hear even more punishments being doled out in the resulting argument Petunia and her mother we're having. If it kept up like this, Lily was worried her parents might do something drastic, like putting bars on her window or feeding her though a catflap in the door.

Eventually though, her mother returned more than a little ruffled, but ready to go and assured her that Petunia would be fine in the future. That she just needed to get used to the idea of having a witch in the family, weather she liked it or not. Lily hoped it would be that simple but somehow she knew it wouldn't be. She knew that no matter what, she was never getting her sister back.

Lily walked with her mother to the door, grabbing her jacket they met Severus on the front porch at 8 A.M exactly. He stood there, very straight with his head held high as he said,

"Hello , it's a pleasure to meet you Mrs.Evans. Call me Severus."

Delilah was very surprised at the mature, polite behavior of the young boy that Lily had said would be escorting them. At first she had been hesitant on letting a 10 year old lead her somewhere, but in the end she conceded after Lily told her that he had already been to this place they we're going. And would indeed be a very helpful guide for their first foray into the magical world. And it further helped by seeing how mature he was, she was happy her Lily had finally made a good friend outside of Petunia. Who admittedly, appeared to be slowly losing her mind.

"Hello Severus, the pleasure is mine. You can call me Delilah. So, I hear you and my daughter are good friends. You two are staying out of trouble I trust? She asked while walking down the street toward the bus station.

Severus stood up straighter somehow before replying,

"Yes ma'am, we met just the other day and of course, we've been staying out of trouble" he said, almost worried that if he said the wrong thing, Lily's mother might forbid them from seeing each other. Lily noticed his demeaner before saying with a small grin,

"Stop it mother. She's just messing with you Severus, you don't have to be nervous" Lily said reassuringly.

Severus looked at Lily's mother, and saw that she appeared to have a mischivious glint in her eye along with a wry grin that was unnervingly similar to the one he had seen Lily herself wear before.

Delilah spoke,

"Fine, fine. I wont pry." They walked a bit further until they we're at the corner, waiting for the bus to arrive. She then asked,

" Just where are we going to be taking this bus to Severus?"

"I know it sounds a bit strange but we're going to a pub in downtown London, called the Leaky Cauldron. Its a front. All the magical stuff is hidden behind it...or inside it...I'm actually unsure of the mechanics of it all, but just take my word for it, THAT'S where we need to go." Severus said as the bus showed up.

They three of them boarded and took their seats as they set off on the begining of their shared magical adventure. It was a tense half hour as the bus was swerved and directed through the busy London traffic before Severus finally pulled the stop cord when they reached the non-assuming, peaceful little street of Charing Cross Road.

The group got off and started walking down the sidewalk, with Severus in the lead. Lily was very nervous, unsure of what to expect as they reached the dingy looking tavern.

Delilah looked at the front of the bar for a moment before looking at Severus and asking, "Your sure THIS is the place?" starting to worry that this whole thing was some kind of scam or scheme.

Severus understood their worry, so he said "Just follow me, don't worry. You'll see pretty quickly that this is the right place."

They walked into the bar and the Bartender (Tom, Lily recalled from her acceptance letter) immediately noticed them and spoke,

"Young master Prince, a pleasure to see you again. And you've brought company?"

Severus smiled before saying, "Yes, this is Lily Evans and her mother Delilah. Like me, Lily is here to pick up her things for school." Severus said, putting heavy emphasis on the word school, like it was some code for something that couldn't be spoken in public. Regardless, Tom understood immediately, nodding while motioning for them to follow. Once the four we're huddled in the small back room together, Lily and her mother we're more nervous than ever, before Lily noticed Tom pulled out a strange looking stick and started tapping various bricks on the wall before giving his farewell and walking back to tend the bar.

Lily had just began getting excited at seeing a real magical wand, before the bricks on the wall started to rotate and flip in on themselves, one after the other, slowly creating an opening in the wall. Lily watched in awe as it opened to reveal a bustling, cobblestone street with people dressed in the absolute strangest fashion she had ever seen. Her mother wasn't much better off, even Lily having more experience with magic than her. Her mouth was hanging open in pure astonishment as Severus walked through the opening with his arm stretched out and said,

"Welcome to, Diagon Alley"

Lily and her mother walked hand in hand down the bustling street with Severus, trying to take everything in. Which was difficult to say the least when everyone's wardrobe looked like it came straight out of the medieval dark ages. Not to mention all the storefront's displaying little nick-nack's and gizmo's that boggled the imagination. One store (Some sort of joke shop) "Gambol and Japes" had odd looking paper birds literally flying around the store dropping harmless, multi-colored smoke bombs on people around as they laughed and played with various items. Another store they passed called "Magical Menagerie" apparently sold animals, and had various creatures displayed outside the store. She saw a cage with a pair of dancing mice. The mice we're literally doing a waltz. There we're owls and cats, toads and rats, and everything in between. They even had what appeared to be full grown bobcat, but it had spikes coming out of its tail and it was constantly changing the color of its coat between every color of the rainbow. She then saw the one store that (despite the magical nature of the previous stores) really got Lily's attention, Florian Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour. Magical Ice cream.. Lily started to unconciously drift toward the parlour, the mere thought of it was almost impossible to ignore before Severus stopped her, and said

"We should probably go to Gringott's first. Get your bank account set up so you can exchange some pounds for galleons and start shopping for the things you'll need. Galleons are these little gold coins, its the main currency in the wizarding world. Dont worry, though" Severus said with a knowing smile, "I've heard that despite their appearance, the Goblin's are very fair when it comes to the exchange rate"

Lily nodded understandingly, agreeing that it definitly made sense to get that done because it didn't look like any one of these places accepted british pounds as payment, before his words finally caught up to her that is. Lily just looked at him incredulously and said

"I'm sorry, did you say Goblins?"

"Yes, Goblins. They're real. For as long as anyone can remember they've handled the wizarding world's finances. Some people dont like that, but they're the best at it. So nobody really cares too much." Severus replied as they reached the very imposing front door of the most well guarded building in all of wizarding britain, Gringott's Bank.

Under a beautiful marble archway, Its doors we're easily 25 feet high, made of what looked to be the strongest steel imaginable. There we're two heavily armed Goblin guards standing on either side of the door, looking very, very intimidating. The group was just about to enter before Lily noticed strange words written above the door, it wasn't any language she had ever seen before. She was puzzling it out, when Severus spoke from behind her,

"Its Gobblygook, the language of the Goblins. Not many people can read it, which kind of defeats the purpose if you ask me. But in a rough translation, it says 'Traitors perish. Thieves repaid' albeit in a much more threatening manner. It basically means that no matter what, under no circumstances do you ever, ever want to get on the bad side of the Goblins, in any way."

Lily looked at the words again, and then to the Goblin guard who was eyeing her with a distrustful look, and started wondering if she was even going to like this new world. Lily asked Severus how he knew what those words said, and he replied with a smile just before reaching the Bank Teller, "Books" Then Severus spoke to the Goblin,

"Excuse me, Lily Evans would like to set up a vault here. And her mother is here as well to sign any necessary legal paperwork. She will be going to Hogwarts soon, so it would be helpful if we could get this done as quickly as possible." he said with as much authority as a 10 year old could muster. The Goblin just looked at him and Lily before replying,

"Fine. Fill out this paperwork" the Goblin said, dropping a massive stack of papers on the desk. The goblin continued,

"The female would then need to offer a drop of blood to seal the contract. And she will receive her key"

Lily ignored the slightly disparaging tone the Goblin used when refering to her as "The Female", she looked at the stack of documents despondently, worried this would take up the entire day. Severus took the stack of papers over to another an empty desk, Lily followed closely. He then handed her an actual quill, like in the fairytales. And told her the places to sign her name on the on the very first form. Lily complied, signing her name in three seperate sections with beautiful handwriting that could only belong to a girl. Severus then instructed her to prick her finger, and press it anywhere on the page. She did, and the instant her blood touched the parchment the signatures glowed bright blue before the massive stack of documents started folding itself up until it was a single sheet of paper, with "Gringott's Bank" written at the top and " Vault#696 - Lily Evan's" written just beneath it. Severus took the paper and brought it back over to the Goblin for him to stamp and triplicate, before the goblin produced a large golden key from seemingly out of nowhere, and handed it to her. Lily took it with wide eyes, holding the first verifiable proof that she was now a part of the wizarding world. Severus then spoke again on their behalf,

"Now, Ms.Evans would like to exchange some muggle currency for galleons. Whats the current exchange rate?" Severus asked like a seasoned veteran.

They we're out of the bank shortly after, able to skip the infamous cart rides that Severus described as "a nightmare" seeing as the vault was currently still empty, and they did currency exchange at the front desk. The first thing Lily wanted to do was get her wand, so they we're off to Olivander's Wand Shop. She found the store to be very odd. It was surprisingly dark inside, given that was daylight outside. And it had a very strange smell she couldn't quite put her finger on. She was wondering about it when a very old man walked over and greeted them.

"Hello, just call me Olivander. What can I do for you today?" The wandmaker asked.

Lily walked up and looked him right and the eye and said, "I would like to buy my first wand."

"Ah, going to Hogwarts are we? Very well, lets see what we have here."

He walked away before coming back with two armful's of boxes. Setting them down on the counter, he opened the first one and pulled out a long, black wand and handed it to her. Nothing happened, it felt like she was just holding a stick.

"Nope, not that one." the wandmaker said before taking it back and handing her another. This one was shorter, but dark red and a black handle. When Lily touched it, a concussive blast came out of the tip before she could even get a firm grip on it, blowing a bowling ball size hole into the wall next to them, startling them all. But none more than her mother, who screamed bloody murder. She was holding her chest and breathing heavily, trying to collect herself when the old man had come back with a new box, and set it down. Lily opened it, and gasped. The wand inside was nothing short of a work of art. It was light brown in color, with spirals along the handle, and more spirals along the middle of the wand. She picked it up, and it immediatly felt a warm and comforting rush of magic flow through her as golden sparks shot out of it end in a light shower. Olivander smiled said, "Yep, that's definitely the one for you. Willow, 10 1/4 inches. The core is a single tailfeather of an Augurey. Swishy, excellent for charms work. Take care of it Miss Evans"

Lily nodded, before realizing she had never told him her name. So she inquired, "How did you know my name?" Olivander just smiled at her and said in the most cryptic way possible,

"I know what I need to know, precisely when I need to know it. Now, I think you need a wand for yourself as well Mr.Snape"

Severus frowned at the wandmakers use of his fathers name, but choosing not to remark on it he replied,

"Yes, I've been quite looking forward to it."

"Well, try this one" the wandmaker said, directing the boy to the box he had set on the table. Severus opened the box, picked up the wand and felt the telltale rush of magic flow through him, knowing this was indeed the wand for him.

Olivander just laughed and said, "On the first try too, looks like i've still got it" clearly quite happy with himself. "Yours and Miss Evans wands are actually quite similar. Willow, 10 1/4 inches, but your core is a single hair from the lion's head of a Chimera. Very tempermental wand, pliable but unyielding. This wand can do great things, it's up to you to see that it does. If you would, do try not to break it. I made this particular wand myself, one of my first, and you have no idea how hard it was to obtain that Chimera hair. I still have the burns in very hard to reach places." Olivander said, grimacing like he was remembering what must have been a very painful experience.

Severus nodded, walking out of the store with Lily and her mother admiring their new wands. Their next stop was Madam Malkin's Clothing Emporium, to get new robes and outfits. That was fairly uneventful, and went by quickly. Then they picked up their potions supplies. Severus informed her that most potions ingredients we're provided by the school, but they had to buy certain (more expensive) ingredients themselves. Ones the school couldn't afford to purchase on a large scale for students. The last stop on the tour was one she was looking forward to almost as much as the wand store. The Book Store, "Obscurus Books". Lily ran toward the door, bursting in and immediately began scanning the shelves for any interesting material. Severus and her mother had just walked in the door themselves, and Lily already had a stack of books under her arm that she could barely carry, and she hadn't even begun to look for her school books yet. It was another half hour before they finally left the store with all their books in tow, Lily unable to take her nose out of the new school book she was reading, "Charms and Theory - An Introductory Guide to Charms" absorbing the information at an alarming rate.

As the group was walking toward the exit, back through the Leaky Cauldron, they started to notice people beginning to panic all around them. Lily looked up from her new book to see a very, very old wizard standing in the street with his wand pointed toward the sky. She looked up but didn't see anything. Then another man, rushed over from a storefront and acosted the old wizard.

"Albus! Thank Merlin you're here, it's happened again. Those damn hooligans, muggle baiting the locals. Its gone too far this time Albus, I won't stand for it. They we're close to breaking the statute of secrecy last time, and they would have had we not obliviated close to three hundred muggles. It's much worse this time, as you can see the muggles are actually starting to float, against their will, through our muggle repelling wards set up around the Alley "

The strange man said, while gesturing up to the sky. It was then that Lily did indeed see something she would not likely forget for a while. Dozens, if not hundreds of people (Muggles, they we're being called) we're floating above them like balloon's. Their pants we're all inflated to the point where it seemed like they would split at the seems, but instead they just kept floating along above the buildings screaming their heads off at the situation that had befallen them. The man then continued speaking to Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the century, hoping there was someway he could fix the situation. Albus asked,

"What exactly is causing this issue, Minister Scrimgeour?"

"It's the pants Albus, it's the bloody pants. They're calling them "Dirigible Dungaree's". Some wizard made a huge batch of cursed pants and had them shipped them to different outlet stores all around the area. Once someone puts them on, they start to inflate and off they go to Merlin knows where. This is the first time we've noticed that, since the pants are floating on their own accord, the muggles arent able to turn themselves around like the ward makes them want to do and instead they just float right on through the wards. It's madness, Albus. Madness!" Scrimgeour yelled, clearly starting to lose the somewhat tenuous grasp he had on his sanity before albus reassured him,

"Now now, Rufus it's not so bad. When muggles are confronted with something they cannot logically explain, they often times make up outrageous theories to explain what they've seen by any means necessary. This is easily fixable, we just need set up a perimeter around the alley and begin catching and obliviating the witnesses, then send your Auror's to the stores in the area to collect whatever cursed items they havn't sold. You go send word to the Ministry, and i'll head to the end of the alley and start collecting the floating muggles." Dumbledore said with the conviction of a leader that even the Minister of Magic went to in times of crisis. It was then that he noticed the girl with bright red hair, and even brighter green eyes standing before him, realising she must have been listening to the whole situation. He smiled his go-to, grandfatherly smile before saying,

" Well hello, young lady. Who might you be?"

Lily looked up at him and said, "My name is Lily Evans." she replied, then adding "This is my mother Delilah, and my friend Severus." pointing to the people beside her.

"Lily Evans. Yes, I remember sending your letter out just yesterday. From what I'm told, the burst of magic detected before your letter went out was quite spectacular, for a bout of accidental magic that is. It shook a few tail feathers in the ministry, I can tell you that." Dumbledore said with a light chuckle and a smile, the then spoke again

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that it fit more along the lines of some directed form of wandless magic" Dumbledore said, with a twinkle in his eye that conveyed his question was completely rhetorical.

Lily looked a little down, afraid she was about to get in trouble for using magic before going to school, before Dumbledore said,

"Its alright, child. It's not a crime to use magic without a wand in the way you did. But you must always be aware of who's around you when you do it, and even more importantly than that, you must careful. Magic is a wonderous thing, but it can also be very dangerous if used without training or instruction."

Lily smiled at him, and replied " I'll be careful, I promise."

Dumbledore returned the smile and said,

"Very good, I look forward to seeing you at Hogwarts. Make sure you don't use your wand until you get to the school. They have ways of tracking that sort of thing. Now, if you'll excuse me there are apparently a few muggles needing to be plucked from the air." Dumbledore said, as he strolled down the road while people all around them stopped and stared at the living legend, just walking down the street like a normal person.

Lily, Severus and her mother walked back through the Leaky Cauldron, bid Tom farewell and made their way to Spinner's End. Her mother went inside first when they reached the house, leaving Lily and Severus on the front porch. It was already very dark outside, and Lily was dead on her feet from all the walking around they had done. She looked at Severus and said,

"Thanks for coming with me today, I'm not sure I would have been able to get through that with just my mum there."

Severus replied, " It's no problem, It was nice having someone else to go with. Doing anything alone is never very fun. I went alone the first time, and it wasn't nearly as fun"

Lily smiled, and hugged him. Severus returned the hug, still unable to put into words the feelings he had for the girl in front of him. Lily let go, and said

"Just think about how much fun Hogwarts is going to be" And Severus smiled, agreeing that going to Hogwarts with Lily did indeed make prospect much more enjoyable. He had already begun expecting he would not make many friends at this school he was going to. So knowing he had at least one before he even got there was much better. But truthfully, deep inside he was terrified that once they got there, she would abandon him, and he would be alone again. Trying to shut those thoughts down, but not quite succeeding he spoke,

"Yes, it's gonna be great. Goodnight Lily." Severus said, walking away towards his house. Lily just stood there, with her head quirked to the side, looking at him as she replied quietly, for only herself to hear.

"Goodnight, Severus."

Lily went to sleep that night thinking about the days events and her best friend and wondered if they would stay friends forever. If going to this school would change them, drive them apart. She hoped it wouldn't.

It was with those thoughts that she drifted off to sleep, a serene smile on her face as she dreamt of all the adventures ahead of her.


End file.
